


Contemporary Studies in Budding Relationships and Impending Doom

by dearzoemurphy



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Angst, Awkward Flirting, Canon Rewrite, Coming Out, Developing Relationship, Episode: s06e08 Intro to Recycled Cinema, Episode: s06e10 Basic RV Repair and Palmistry, Episode: s06e12 Wedding Videography, Episode: s06e13 Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Missing Scenes, Post-Canon, Post-Episode: s06e07 Advanced Safety Feature, Post-Episode: s06e09 Grifting 101, Post-Episode: s06e11 Modern Espionage, Rewrite, alternate episode endings, season 6, this is just 'what if Britta had emotional depth in s6 and also was dating Frankie'
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:00:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24888781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dearzoemurphy/pseuds/dearzoemurphy
Summary: “I get it. It can get weird when you date friends,” Frankie said thoughtfully.“Not too weird. Not when you know each other well enough,” Britta said.Frankie and Britta find themselves being drawn together over the second half of the study group's sixth year at Greendale.(Missing scenes and alternate episode endings in a version of season six where Frankie and Britta end up dating.)
Relationships: Britta Perry & Jeff Winger & Annie Edison & Abed Nadir, Frankie Dart & the Study Group, Frankie Dart/Britta Perry
Comments: 16
Kudos: 43





	Contemporary Studies in Budding Relationships and Impending Doom

**Author's Note:**

> 1) I hammered this out in about four? days and I still don't know where the random motivation came from or if this is actually good  
> 2) a couple weeks ago, I was hit with a pretty bad case of writer's block, hence why I haven't posted in a while! I'm sorry to everyone who left requests or was looking forward to the works I had planned for pride month. I hope this work functions as an apology and that I'll be back to business as usual soon ^_^  
> 3) this fic has a playlist! it's almost an hour long as I just kept finding songs that fit well, so it's not really made for listening while one reads, but [ here ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3cnC35gd9SJOvhhx918i4M?si=HB5XsRFcSbiEYGxSuyyyTg) it is if anyone's interested!  
> 4) as always, I hope you all enjoy! <3

Frankie was sitting at the bar in The Vatican next to Jeff and Elroy, nursing a vodka soda and letting the din of chattering patrons wash over her. She didn’t love going out to bars and the like, but she wanted to support the budding friendship between her fellow committee members, as well as check in on a certain blonde bartender.

She couldn’t help but feel somewhat guilty for her role in having Rick taken away. Of course, she had no idea how controlled the life of a guerilla marketer was and that taking him off of Greendale's campus would mean taking him out of Britta’s life. But even if she had known, it was the only choice that she possibly could have made. She had a school with an infantile dean to take care of that took priority over all else. 

Her train of thought was interrupted by someone tapping on the counter in front of her. She snapped out of her daze and was greeted by the sight of a slightly ragged Britta smiling down at her. “Hey. Can I get you anything?” she asked.

Frankie met Britta’s gaze, noticing her sad eyes and the difficulty that she seemed to be having with maintaining her smile.

“I’m good, thanks,” she said, pausing to further study the other woman’s face, “How are you holding up?” 

Britta looked down at the counter. “I’m alright. I’m…I’m fine,” she said unconvincingly.

Frankie felt a sort of pang in her chest. “I’m sorry about your boyfriend. I didn’t realize that he would have to leave,” she replied.

“It’s okay, don’t blame yourself. You were just protecting Greendale. It’s my fault, I should have known better,” Britta said matter-of-factly.

“How on earth is it your fault?!” Frankie asked incredulously.

“I knew it was going to end like this. He always was going to choose his job over me."

“Oh. Well, I…I’m sorry." 

“It’s okay, I promise. I’ll be fine in a few days,” Britta said with a weak smile.

Frankie nodded, taking a long, slow sip of her drink. Britta turned to go check on a group of patrons down the bar, but was stopped by Frankie reaching out and taking her by the arm.

“I hope you know that he’s crazy.”

“What?”

“Rick. He’s crazy for choosing Honda over you. Any sane person would leave a career like that for you in a heartbeat." Upon hearing her own words, Frankie felt her face begin to burn in uncharacteristic embarrassment.

A genuine smile spread across Britta’s face as she placed her free hand on top of Frankie’s and squeezed it gently. “Thanks. That’s nice to hear.”

“You should hear things like that more often,” Frankie added, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them.

The way that Britta's smile grew into a wide grin made Frankie happy in a way that she didn’t want to acknowledge. “Well, maybe you should _say_ them more often,” she replied. Britta gave her hand another squeeze before dropping it and making her way down the bar, doing her best to conceal a satisfied smirk. 

\---

“Hey. You’re doing great,” Frankie said, tapping Britta on the arm.

Britta raised an eyebrow and set down her water bottle. “Is that sarcasm?”

“What? No! You really are doing a great job. Of improvising and moving things along,” Frankie replied quickly.

The group was attempting to film an entire sci-fi epic in a single weekend to capitalize off of Chang’s newfound ham commercial fame. As such, they were only on the second break of the day despite having been filming for several hours.

“Oh. Well, thanks, then."

“Of course. You know, if it were up to me, I’d make you the Mayor of Space instead of Jeff,” Frankie said. She cringed inwardly, wishing that she could take her own words back. Part of her thought that Britta might laugh and walk away in response.

Luckily, Britta seemed equal parts amused and charmed by the sentiment. “I’m always up for destroying antiqued gender roles. I would happily accept.”

“You know, this has been a stressful day. Do you maybe want to come over to my place when this is all done? Unwind, have a glass of wine?” Frankie asked, surprising herself. She wasn’t usually one to invite others over to her apartment for any reason whatsoever. She wasn't usually one to enjoy her co-workers' company, either, but here she was, wanting to spend all the time she could with the ever-perplexing Britta Perry.

“Oh my gosh, I would love that. Everyone’s been driving me up the wall all day long,” Britta said.

“Okay, great! We can just…go whenever we’re done here.”

Before Britta could reply, Abed shouted “Places, places!” to draw everyone back to their spots in the hallway. She guzzled the rest of her water as fast as humanly possible and chucked the bottle into the recycling bin next to her.

“Looking forward to it!” she called, looking over her shoulder toward Frankie and giving her a wink before darting down the hallway to get into position for the robot battle.

It took Frankie a moment to regain her composure and make herself look busy by writing nonsense on her clipboard. It took an hour before she was able to actually do anything productive. 

\---

“Every time that I think I can’t be surprised by Greendale, it always finds a way to prove me wrong,” Frankie said, casually swirling the glass of wine in her hand.

Her and Britta’s post-filming girls’ night had been such a success that they had started hanging out most Friday nights, unwinding by drinking and complaining about everything that had happened that week. This particular Friday, they were curled up on Frankie’s burgundy couch with a bottle of red wine on the coffee table in front of them. 

“Really? This whole thing with the grifting was pretty tame for us,” Britta said.

“You call risking $50,000 and organizing the whole school in a plan to get it back tame?!” Frankie asked, bewildered.

Britta shrugged. “You get pretty desensitized after you spend a few years hanging around here.”

Frankie shook her head before taking a sip of her wine. “That’s fair. Concerning, but fair,” she said. She wanted to follow up, but was quickly learning to stop asking questions that she probably didn’t want the answers to.

“Besides, this felt like a low stakes adventure. DeSalvo was predictable. Once we knew that he wanted to sleep with me, the rest of the plan just kind of fell into place,” Britta said casually.

Frankie felt her face flush involuntarily. “How did we come to know that information?”

“It was kind of an inference, actually. He told me that if Jeff wanted his respect, he should have told him that we slept together,” Britta explained with an eye roll, "Men, am I right?"

Frankie should have been appalled at realization that they hadn’t known for sure that their plan was fool-proof, but instead could only focus on the thought of Jeff and Britta together.

“I keep forgetting that you two dated,” she said simply.

Britta sheepishly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Yeah. To be honest, both of us like to forget,” she said.

“Really? Why?” Frankie asked.

“I don’t know. It’s easier to stay friends if we just don’t bring it up. Sometimes we make jokes about it. But we don’t talk about it seriously at all,” she explained.

“I get it. It can get weird when you date friends,” Frankie said thoughtfully.

“Not too weird. Not when you know each other well enough,” Britta said. She finished her wine and leaned forward to set the empty glass on the coffee table. 

“Of course. I’m sure.”

Britta adjusted herself so that one of her arms was propped up on the back of the couch and eyed the wine bottle, debating if she should have more. “You know, no matter how much I drink, I don’t think I’ll be able to get his awful taste out of my mouth. It’s like…stale animal crackers and bad scotch,” she mused, unprompted.

Realization dawned on Frankie. “Wait, you had to kiss him?!”

“Oh, yeah. It was quick, but the taste was very overpowering,” Britta said with a laugh.

“I know there was $50,000 on the line, but how were you okay with kissing…that?” Frankie asked incredulously.

“I’ve kissed a lot of gross guys, Frankie. And one kind of gross girl,” her friend said with a chuckle.

“Oh?” Frankie chirped, trying not to sound too interested in the last half of her statement.

Britta giggled. “Long story short, I wanted to show that I was cool with lesbians by kissing my lesbian friend at a Greendale dance. But she wasn’t actually a lesbian. And she was just friends with me because she thought I was a lesbian,” she elaborated.

Frankie nodded slowly. “I see.”

“You ever kissed a girl?” Britta asked, scooting closer to Frankie and looking at her with wide eyes.

“I mean…wait, are you just trying to get an answer for your betting pool?”

“What? No! We dissolved that right after our emails were leaked,” Britta insisted.

Frankie squinted suspiciously, but decided that there was no point in hiding from who was quickly becoming her best friend on campus.

“Yes. I have. I’ve kissed more than one girl,” she confirmed.

“I knew it!” Britta exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. She sheepishly lowered it once she noticed Frankie glaring at her. “I just like being right, that’s all,” she added, trying her best to sound nonchalant.

“I’m sure.”

“No, really! I…actually wanted to ask you something, but didn’t want to ask until I knew for sure, you know?” Britta said hurriedly.

Her friend tilted her head to the side. “What did you want to ask?”

“How did you know?”

“...excuse me?”

“You know…how did you know? That you liked girls?”

Frankie was slightly taken aback by the question. “Well, I…some part of me always knew, I suppose. I dated a few guys in high school, but it didn’t feel right. Then I got to college and started meeting all sorts of different people, many of whom weren’t straight. One friend in particular, she…opened my eyes to the possibilities. And I never looked back.”

“So you guys fucked."

Her face turned bright red. “That is technically accurate, yes,” she confirmed, then cleared her throat, “but it was more than that. She helped me realize that I’d had romantic feelings for girls in the past and had just never acted on them.”

Britta nodded thoughtfully. “I see, I see,” she said, trailing off.

“Um, any particular reason for asking?” Frankie said timidly.

“Hm? Oh! Well, I, uh…I kind of think that I might be like you. Except not? Because I still like guys, and I don’t regret dating or sleeping with any of the ones I’ve dated or slept with. But I kind of want to try being with a girl, you know?”

“That’s perfectly normal. You could be bisexual,” Frankie offered.

“Huh. Yeah. I guess I could be. I don’t know, I feel kind of stupid only now figuring this out in my 30’s, but it’s not too late, is it?” Britta asked, casting a slightly nervous gaze in Frankie’s direction.

“Oh, of course not! Everyone figures themselves out at different speeds, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ to coming out. Plus, things can change,” Frankie assured her. 

“That’s good. I’m glad,” Britta said, moving even closer to Frankie so that she could rest her head on her shoulder, “Thanks for listening to me. You’re the only one in the group that I felt like I could really talk to about this. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jeff and Annie and Abed, but I don’t think they’d really be able to help, you know?”

Frankie looked down and gave a gentle smile. “Of course. I’m glad I could be of assistance,” she said, placing her wine glass down on the small oak end table next to her so that she could wrap both arms around her friend. She wasn’t usually comfortable with casual physical affection, but for some reason, she loved being close to Britta.

“You know how I said that I wanted to try being with a girl earlier?” Britta asked after a few moments had passed.

“Mhm. Yes, I do,” Frankie said. She ignored the feeling of her heart starting to race.

“What if I told you that you were the girl I wanted to try being with?”

Frankie thought her heart had started racing a moment earlier. Now, it felt as if it were about to beat right out of her chest.

“You…you want to be with…with me?” she asked incredulously.

Britta sat straight up, breaking free of Frankie’s embrace. “I’m sorry. That was really sudden. I just…kind of realized that I like you? And not just in a friend way. I’ve really liked getting to know you better outside of the group. And, I don’t know, I kind of started wondering if some of the stuff we were doing was more girlfriend stuff and less friend stuff. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make this weird, I-”

“No, no, you’re not making it weird! I just…need a moment to process,” her friend interjected.

“Oh. Okay. Cool. Cool, cool.”

Frankie looked over at the woman sitting next to her, who was curling herself into a ball and nervously biting her lip. For the first time, she opened the floodgates and let herself truly acknowledge the feelings that she had been having over the past few weeks. The pangs of guilt at the bar. The excitement when she thought Britta might have been flirting with her. The way she caught herself smiling whenever Britta said something slightly dumb, but endearing. The contentment that came from knowing that at the end of every week, Britta would be on her couch, smiling and laughing with a glass of wine in her hand.

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin wine night. We can pretend this didn’t even happen, I-”

“I want to try being with you, too.”

Britta looked up, surprised. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah. I like you. You’re not like anyone I’ve met in a long time. You’re sweet. And you’re funny and cute and so incredibly caring. And you don’t care what anyone else thinks, you’re just…yourself,” Frankie said.

Britta tried to suppress the grin spreading across her face to no avail. “You mean it?”

“I don’t lie, Britta. Of course I mean it."

“I didn’t think you did! It’s just that these things don’t usually work out for me,” Britta explained.

Frankie’s expression softened. “I’m sorry,” she said simply, at a loss for words.

“Aw, it’s okay. I don’t have to worry about that right now,” Britta said. She slowly and timidly moved to be closer to Frankie again, her gaze drifting down to her deep red lips. Frankie noticed and was overcome with a sort of fluttery feeling that was typically foreign to her.

“Do you…do you want me to…?” 

“Mhm, yes, I would like that very much."

Frankie nodded, leaning closer to her friend and moving one hand up to cup her chin. Britta felt her pulse speed up as Frankie gently pulled her face towards her. Their eyes drifted shut as their lips met for the first time. Britta wrapped both arms around the other woman’s shoulders as she placed her free hand on Britta’s back. Both moved with a certain amount of timid reservation at first, but quickly established a comfortable rhythm. It had been years since Britta had kissed another girl, but the way her lips locked with Frankie’s and their heads tilted to just the right angles made her feel as if she’d been kissing girls her whole life. Similarly, Frankie had been momentarily concerned about how out of practice she was. It had been a while since she last had a girlfriend. But it didn’t seem to matter when her and Britta felt like two puzzle pieces slotting into place, right where they were meant to be.

Neither woman was exactly sure how Britta ended up in Frankie’s lap or when their tongues got involved, but there wasn’t much time to think about those sorts of things when their hands were roaming and their lips were moving together with an increased fervor. Frankie wrapped her arms around Britta’s waist to pull the blonde up against her, and took a moment to think about how lucky she must be.

They went on for a few more minutes before Britta pulled back practically gasping for air.

“Holy shit, you’re amazing,” she said breathlessly, looking Frankie up and down appreciatively.

Frankie beamed, feeling prouder than she wanted to at the mere suggestion that she could take Britta Perry’s breath away. “So are you. I feel like a teenager again,” she said, sounding happily dazed.

Britta giggled. “Me too.”

“Forgive me for being forward, but do you think-”

“Yes. Whatever you’re about to say, yes.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to rush into anything that you’re not comfortable with.”

“I appreciate that, I really do. But I think I would be most comfortable in your bed. Like, right now,” Britta said, trying her best to be suggestive and sultry, the attempted mood being overshadowed by her impatience. 

Frankie did her best to fight back a growing blush. “Alright then. In that case…follow me.”

\---

“Okay, my apology now. I’ve had some time to think about it, and I’ve decided…I’m sorry for not asking people what they wanted before buying all the snacks for the trip,” Annie said diplomatically.

“Wow, really?” the Dean muttered.

Jeff started slow clapping. “That’s great,” he lauded, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Frankie was starting to wonder why she wasn’t wondering about what she had done to deserve being trapped in an RV on the side of the road with the Save Greendale Committee. In an RV with a giant hand strapped to the top of it, no less.

“What? Think about it! It’s the worst thing I’ve done on this trip. I’ve been nailing it!” Annie said triumphantly.

“She has. You have. I haven’t been,” Frankie affirmed. Britta turned to give her a concerned look, snaking a hand under the blankets they were sharing to place it on her knee.

Frankie and Britta had been happily dating for a month or so, but hadn’t told the rest of the group yet. There wasn’t any particular reason for the secrecy other than knowing that things would get just a little more complicated when the others found out. Plus, Frankie still hadn’t come out publicly. Neither had Britta, which provided her some sort of comfort. When they did eventually tell people, they would be all in it together.

“I shouldn’t be yelling at the Dean in front of any of you. It’s unprofessional.”

“Oh, you’re alright, babe. We got no complaints,” Britta said, turning to give her a reassuring smile. Frankie smiled back, placing a hand on top of the one Britta was resting on her knee.

“Wait, what did you just call her?” Annie asked incredulously.

“I knew it,” Abed chimed in from the back of the RV.

Britta and Frankie looked at each other with panicked expressions, trying to silently communicate on the best course of action.

“Well, you see, I…”

“We’re kind of…”

“I mean, it’s…”

“Dating. We’re dating,” Frankie said finally.

It felt as though the whole RV froze where they were. Frankie thought that they would probably be able to hear a pin drop.

“Is it really that much of a surprise to all of you? I’ve been noticing the longing glances across the table and constant excuses for casual touches for a few weeks now. Plus, they started carpooling everywhere despite living on the opposite sides of town,” Abed stated, looking around to the other group members that were still in shock.

“Now that I think about it, I guess not…” Jeff admitted.

“I hope that this won’t affect our personal and professional relationships with one another,” Frankie piped up. Britta nodded vigorously.

“Of course not. What you do with each other in your free time is no concern of mine. Especially when there’s much more pressing matters at hand…” Elroy grumbled, glaring pointedly at the Dean.

“You know, you could use this. Become a consultant for the school board,” Craig said, thinking back to his brief stint on the board earlier that year.

“I, for one, am happy for both of you. How long have you been together?” Annie cooed.

“Almost a month now,” Britta said proudly.

“Like, a month of calling each other ‘girlfriend’ or a month of extracurricular activities?” Jeff inquired.

A rumble of various exclamations such as ‘gross!’ and exasperated ‘Jeff!’s rose up from the group.

“A month of being girlfriends, Jeff. I’m not sure if you remember, but I wasn’t the commitment-phobic one,” Britta shot back, sticking her tongue out at him. He did the same in return, causing Elroy to shake his head at the immaturity of his travel companions.

“Anyways, can we get back to what’s important here?” he asked.

“Yes, absolutely. Dean, do you have anything to say?” Frankie said, aiding in redirecting the conversation.

“I’ll keep trying to flash back,” Abed called, scrunching up his face in concentration once more.

Britta turned and gave Frankie a pleased smile before tucking her legs up onto her seat and leaning her head on her shoulder. Frankie leaned her head on top of Britta’s, feeling as though she had just let out a massive sigh of relief.

 _“At least I won’t have to worry about staying warm tonight,”_ she thought, content to cuddle with her girlfriend and watch the drama play out in front of her.

\---

“How did we end up here?” Frankie mused, rubbing her temples.

Britta looked over from where she was sitting on the couch and watching Animal Planet. For their one and a half month anniversary, she had used her tips to buy Frankie a small TV so that they didn’t have to worry about Annie and Abed in apartment 303 every time Britta wanted to show her a documentary or watch an episode of The Office.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. How did Greendale get to the point where the janitors could stage an uprising through hosting an illegal paintball game?” Frankie snapped.

“I wish I had an answer,” Britta said, making her way across the room and over to where her girlfriend was standing at her kitchen island.

“How could you take part?!” Frankie exclaimed. Britta was visibly shocked at her outburst.

“I’m sorry. I’m not…not mad. I just don’t understand. You all knew that I explicitly forbade you from playing paintball!” she added quickly.

“I only took part because we were investigating who started it! We wanted to shut it down!” Britta said defensively.

“Oh, yeah, I’m sure you had no fun wrecking the kitchen with Elroy,” Frankie grumbled sarcastically, leaning her elbows on the countertop.

Britta moved closer to her, stroking a stray lock of Frankie’s hair. She flinched at the touch, leaning away from her girlfriend.

“Okay, maybe I did. Maybe I did play partially because I wanted to play. But paintball is important to us! We haven’t done it in a couple of years, and this…well, it felt like our last chance,” Britta admitted. She looked down at the counter, unable to keep her gaze up.

“Why is it so important?” Frankie asked, “I’m not judging. I genuinely want to know.”

“I don’t know. I guess…it was the first big event that we all went through together. Greendale was weird before that, sure, but paintball was the tipping point. The first game really brought us all closer since we were an alliance and worked together. And it was when Jeff and I…you know…for the first time. The second game was, as Abed would say, our homage to Westerns and Star Wars. No one remembers much of the third game, but I think it had some kind of emotional journey with Abed and Pierce. Paintball has always been this thing that tore Greendale apart, but brought our group together. And especially now, with three members down and two to go soon…we had to. We needed to play,” Britta explained, getting emotional by the end.

Frankie looked up at her. “It wasn’t about winning.”

“Of course not! It’s never been about winning for us. I mean, we’ve always been competitive, sure. And winning never hurt us. But it’s a ‘journey, not the destination’ kind of thing,” her girlfriend elaborated.

“I’m sorry. If I had known, I would have tried to organize something more controlled so that everyone didn’t have to enter the janitors’ competition,” Frankie said. She reached over to clasp one of Britta’s hands in both of her own.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to apologize. It would have gotten out of hand anyway, it’s our superpower,” Britta said with a small, pained smile.

Frankie studied the other woman’s face for a moment, noting the wrinkles of concern and tears that seemed to be trapped behind her eyes. “You really think Annie and Abed are going to leave, don’t you?”

Britta took in a shaky breath. “Yeah. There’s no way that they won’t. There’s no reason for them not to. Jeff and I…we’re settled here, whether we like it or not. We’re limited on options. But they’re young. They’ve got their whole lives ahead of them to…to go change the world,” she said, finding herself getting choked up, “And we’ll be here. Cheering them on and giving them a place to stay for the night if they ever find their way back.” Her voice cracked as she forced out the last sentence. Her smile turned sorrowful as tears spilled out of her eyes and down her cheeks.

Frankie’s face fell as she rushed to wrap her arms tightly around her girlfriend and pull her as close as possible. “Oh, sweetie…it’s okay. It’s okay, I’ve got you,” she murmured, stroking Britta’s hair with a sort of frantic energy before latching onto the back of her head and guiding it onto her shoulder.

Britta threw her arms over Frankie and grabbed fistfuls of her shirt, desperately trying to not let out the sobs growing inside of her. “They’re all gonna leave. The group’s gonna fall apart. I’ll be alone again,” she whispered hoarsely.

“No. You’re not going to be alone. You’re never going to be alone again, I promise,” her girlfriend said fiercely, “Even if they do leave, you still have Jeff. And Elroy and Craig and Chang. And me. I’ll make sure that you’re never left behind.”

Britta sniffled, her face contorting as she felt her body heave and an anguished cry escaped.

“You mean it?”

Frankie pulled back to look Britta in the eye, gripping the sides of her arms. “I do. We’re here to support you,” she said, “I imagine Jeff is processing some similar emotions. I know you don’t like to talk about your feelings to him, but-”

“I did. We did. I hadn’t even thought about the possibility yet, but he brought it up to me after making the movie.”

Frankie looked at Britta’s face, now bright red from crying. Tears now flowed freely down her cheeks. “You didn’t tell me about that.”

“No, I didn’t,” she said, pausing to take in an uneven breath, “I’ve loved spending time with you over the past few months. If I didn’t have you, I’d probably be in some despair pit with my cats and knitting and reality TV.”

“Because Annie and Abed might be leaving Greendale?”

Britta nodded. “It would really mean the end of our group. And thinking about that is scary. But I don’t have to think about it when I’m with you,” Britta said quietly.

“Oh.”

“It’s like, there’s this big scary thing haunting us, right? And I want to talk about it. But no one else really does. At least, in any way that matters. So it just hangs over everything we do. It’s a fog that follows us around,” she started, “You clear it away, even if it’s just for a little bit. I don’t have to think about the big scary thing. At the risk of sounding like Abed again, I don’t have to run the possible scenarios for next year in my head. I can just…exist,” she said, lifting her eyes to meet Frankie’s gaze, “I really am sorry that I betrayed your trust with the game. But I couldn’t give up my last opportunity for an adventure with these guys.”

Frankie only drew Britta close again, pausing to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I’m glad that I can clear the fog,” she said quietly.

Britta hugged her back even more tightly. “I’m glad you can, too.”

\---

Britta wasn’t upset when their group had to split up at Garrett and Stacie’s wedding reception. It just meant that she and Frankie would get some alone time, whether it was on the dance floor or in a private corner of the venue.

Her suspicions about Annie and Abed’s plans for the next year hadn’t yet been outright confirmed, but she caught Abed checking for job listings in LA one night and happened to overhear Annie conducting what seemed to be a phone interview. Despite being roommates that ate dinner together every night that Britta wasn’t with Frankie, she didn’t feel that it was her place to ask and reveal the truth before they were ready to share it.

For some reason, the information she had gathered didn’t immediately bother her as much as it should have. She was becoming more comfortable with the idea of the group evolving instead of outright disbanding and settling down with whoever would be left. That was in no small part thanks to Frankie, who had kept her busy with spontaneous picnics during their lunch breaks, weekend trips to the mall, movie nights to get her caught up on Britta’s version of pop culture, and various hangouts with other committee members.

“Britta? Britta, sweetie?” Frankie asked, pulling her girlfriend out of the daze she had entered after Garrett’s mom told them all off.

“Oh, sorry. I zoned out. What’s up?”

Frankie looked concerned, but decided not to pry. “I was wondering if you’d like to dance with me.”

Britta gave her a glowing smile. “I would love to,” she said, taking the hand that had been offered to her.

The pair moved to the center of the dance floor, Frankie leading Britta after her. She gave her girlfriend an apprehensive look.

“I haven’t done this since high school. How does this work, again?” she asked.

Britta giggled. “Well, since there’s a slower song playing right now, we can hold hands here, like this…” she said, lacing her right hand with Frankie’s left, “and I can put my other hand on your shoulder like this. You put yours on my waist,” she instructed.

Frankie did as she was told, pulling the pair close together, their faces mere inches apart.

“Today’s been fun,” Britta said as they started swaying back and forth to the music.

“It has. I’m glad that everyone seems like they’re having a good time,” her girlfriend said.

“I know, right? It’s not everyday that you almost miss a wedding because you’re playing charades, and then almost ruin said wedding by showing up late,” Britta joked.

“Poor Garrett and Stacie,” Frankie said.

“Aw, they’re fine. I’m sure they didn’t expect anything less from a Greendale wedding."

“I’m glad. That we’ve had today.”

Britta looked down and bit her lip. “Me too,” she said, taking on a mournful tone.

Frankie quickly realized that she had to redirect, wanting to give Britta as fun and carefree of a night as possible. “Hey, is there anything else you want to do tonight? I don’t know, something like...spike the punch. Or go dance by ourselves on the patio,” she suggested.

“Those are two wildly different ends of some weird kind of fucked up spectrum."

Frankie gave her a timid smile. “Which end will it be? Maybe somewhere in the middle?”

“Let’s go out on the patio,” Britta said. She unwrapped herself from her girlfriend and took her by the hand, taking her turn as the one to lead. Frankie was genuinely impressed by how well decorated the outside area was; the same flowers and fabric from inside adorned the outside of the building and fairy lights were strung up to cast a warm, golden glow on the space below.

“You know, our two month anniversary is tomorrow,” Britta said, turning to face Frankie and looping her arms loosely around her waist.

“I do know,” Frankie said, giving an amused smile and draping her arms over Britta’s shoulders.

“Do you want to go out somewhere nice? Or-”

“I might already have a reservation at the vegan place you were talking about the other night,” Frankie admitted.

Britta’s face lit up. “Really?! Oh my god, you’re amazing!” she practically squealed.

Her girlfriend beamed. “Oh, it’s no problem. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Thai place, but I felt like I should try some more restaurants around here,” she said, “Plus, I want to take you on another formal date.”

Britta grinned. “I can’t wait,” she said, leaning in closer and holding Frankie tighter, burrowing her head on top of her chest.

Frankie squeezed back, noticing the faint sounds of an Ed Sheeran song drifting over from inside.

“We were just kids when we fell in love, not knowing what it was. I will not give you up this time,” she started singing along softly.

Britta pulled back enough to meet Frankie’s gaze, prompting a smile from the brunette.

“Darling, just kiss me slow. Your heart is all I own. And in your eyes, you’re holding mine,” she continued.

“Baby, I’m dancing in the dark! With you between my arms. Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song,” Britta joined in, the pair now singing together.

“When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath, but you heard it,” Frankie sang on her own, walking her fingers up Britta’s shoulder to caress the side of her face, “Darling, you look perfect tonight.”

Britta smiled, leaning in to kiss her girlfriend. It was an unusually chaste kiss, but she felt overwhelmed with emotion from it.

“I can’t believe I didn’t know that you have such a beautiful voice,” she said, her own cracking slightly.

Frankie looked down, a light blush and flustered smile gracing her face. “Oh, it’s alright. _Yours_ is wonderful."

Out of the corner of her eye, Britta noticed someone watching them from the doorway and directed her inquisitive gaze over Frankie’s shoulder. She quickly realized that it was Abed, holding his video camera and smiling softly.

“Is everything okay?”

“Mhm. Everything’s fine,” Britta said, placing a light kiss on her jawline to draw Frankie’s attention back towards her.

She made a mental note to ask Abed for the footage later.

\---

How the group ended up in The Vatican pitching ideas for a hypothetical season seven was anybody’s guess. Britta hadn’t been surprised by Annie’s announcement. Of course she got the internship. She was always going to get the internship. Now, she was waiting on a similar announcement from Abed, but it surprisingly hadn’t happened yet.

After listening to Abed, Chang, and the Dean’s lackluster (in Britta’s humble opinion) pitches, it was finally her turn.

“You wanna know a perfect season seven?” she asked, looking around the table to make sure that she had everyone’s attention. Frankie nodded encouragingly, prompting her to continue.

“So, we open on the theme song. But it’s slower and more dramatic than all of yours, with images of our devastated planet rolling while it plays. We cut to the study room, and Chang and I have switched spots so that I can sit next to Frankie.”

The table let out a collective groan.

“Are you pitching us I Love Lucy?” Jeff asked sarcastically.

“No! It isn’t only about me and Frankie, I just want to sit next to her! So anyways, I’m on the phone with the Senator responsible for labeling us terrorists, because Frankie and I are the leaders of a new uprising. Except, we don’t need leaders to tell us what to do. So I guess we’re more like figureheads? But anyway, we’re in charge of the war room,” Britta continued.

“Oh, oh, when do I come into this?” the Dean asked excitedly.

“Well, um…I guess you’re in charge of giving us updates. On protests. So you come in- dressed in a pantsuit, not a diaper-”

“Couldn’t season seven be happy? I’m sorry, Britta, your pitch sounds great, but maybe we all deserve a break,” Frankie interjected.

Britta turned to look at her girlfriend, feeling a flash of contempt followed by relief since she wasn’t quite sure where her pitch was going. “Is that your official pitch?”

“I think Frankie’s right. What we need is a fun, carefree season, where all we have to do is spend time with each other. No stakes. No grand plans. Just each other,” Abed cut in.

“Thank you, Abed. Season seven doesn’t have to be depressing, like This Is Us. It can be delightful and carefree, like Parks and Rec,” Frankie added.

“Oh, boo! Parks and Rec? Is that really what you want us to be?” Chang asked.

“She’s new to TV, let her have this one,” Britta whispered across the table.

“That sounds nice. We could solve little problems and go on day trips…maybe start a community garden on the roof where the pile of frisbees used to be,” Annie suggested. The group murmured in approval.

“Most importantly, we would all be together,” Jeff said happily.

“Hm. Might be a bad time, but I should probably tell you guys that I’m moving to Los Angeles,” Abed said abruptly.

“What?!” the group exclaimed.

Britta felt her stomach do a somersault. She knew that this would happen just like it had with Annie. But that didn’t make the reality of it hurt any less, even if she knew that both of them needed to get out of Greendale.

“Like a real TV executive, I was letting you guys work your ass off, because there’s no profit in saying no to an idea. But now that it’s time to commit, I have to pass. I got a job as a PA on a FOX show set in a video game studio. It’s like 30 Rock meets IT Crowd meets well…me. I’m growing up,” Abed explained happily.

The pit in Britta’s stomach was replaced with a swell of pride. “That’s so great, Abed! I’m so happy for you,” she cooed. She may have been putting on a slightly fake smile, but she was genuinely happy that he had booked a gig that he was so excited and passionate about.

As various other congratulatory statements were passed around the table, both Britta and Frankie ended up locking their gazes on Jeff.

“But you’re coming back, right?” he asked.

“Maybe. Probably. Maybe.”

Britta had been having a difficult time accepting that her friends were moving onto bigger and better things. But she knew that Jeff had been having a time ten times worse than hers.

“But six seasons and a movie,” Jeff said through gritted teeth.

Britta cast a worried glance towards Frankie, who shot a similarly concerned look back.

_“This isn’t going to end well.”_

\---

As it turned out, it did. It was messy and heart wrenching. But it ended well.

The ending began when Jeff left in a panic, Annie following him shortly thereafter. The rest of the group left a few minutes after her in the hopes that she would be able to calm him down.

“I’m sure he’ll be alright, Britta,” Frankie said soothingly. She was driving to the library, her girlfriend sitting shotgun and nervously fiddling with the window lock on the inside of her door.

“I know he will be. But he’s not right now,” Britta replied.

Frankie wasn’t exactly sure what to say, so she kept her eyes on the road ahead. “You know, I’m glad that Abed has an opportunity that seems like it was made for him-”

“Can we please not talk about this right now?” she said, a certain amount of desperation present in her voice.

“Right. I’m sorry,” Frankie said, “You know, it’s okay if you aren’t alright, either,” she added quietly.

Britta took that as permission to release all the tension in her body and was subsequently overcome with a wave of sobs.

“I knew it was coming! That’s the worst part! It shouldn’t hurt this badly!” she cried.

Frankie made a decision to pull off on the side of the road so that she could focus on her girlfriend. As she brought the car to a slow stop, Britta curled herself into a ball in her seat.

“I’ve already talked through it with you and Jeff. I thought I accepted it. But it hurts so much, to know that my first real family will be scattered. Everyone else we’ve let go of hasn’t come back. Maybe we’re all cursed. Maybe none of them will ever come back,” she said softly.

“I’m so sorry, baby. It’s hard to hear now, but it’s supposed to hurt. That’s…how you know it meant something,” Frankie said, gently stroking Britta’s hair.

“If it hurts as much as it meant, I’m gonna be on bed rest for weeks,” Britta grumbled.

A pang of second hand sorrow stabbed Frankie in the gut. “I’m sure they’ll come back, all of them. One day. And if not, then great news! You can go out and find them. Well, except maybe the one who died. He’s pretty much gone,” she added.

Britta let out a short laugh. “I’m not too torn up about that,” she said, wiping away her subsiding tears. “I’m so incredibly happy that Annie and Abed have opportunities that they’re excited about. But it’s so hard to watch knowing that I never got the sort of chances that they have. And I never will.”

“Oh, Britta…you know that it’s never too late.”

“I know. But it is for me, trust me. And I’ll be okay with that in a few days. I was okay with it before! I just…slid backwards. I’ll therapize myself and work through it. I know how lucky I am to have had this family at all. And I know how lucky it is that it keeps growing and changing. I know how lucky I am to have you,” Britta said.

“Oh, I’m definitely the lucky one here,” Frankie said softly, still stroking her hair.

Britta looked up and smiled through her tears. “We’re both lucky,” she said, pausing for a moment, “But I feel the luckiest right now. I don’t have to say goodbye to you yet."

Her girlfriend looked on incredulously before launching over the center console and wrapping Britta in a tight embrace.

“You won’t have to any time soon.”

After holding each other for a few moments, they both felt stable enough to get back on the road and complete their journey to the library. Chang, the Dean, and Abed were already there, waiting for them outside.

“You know, I wasn’t sure how long this narrative thread was going to last. Or how intrusive it would be,” Abed said, gesturing between the two of them as they approached the other three, “But I’m glad that you both seem to have gotten a lot out of it.”

“Aw, Abed,” Britta sighed, stepping forward to pull him in for a hug, “I’m going to miss you, buddy.”

“I’m going to miss you too. But not too much. There’s a character on my show that’s written a lot like you,” he said as they pulled away from the embrace.

“Really?! What’s she like?”

“Well, a lot of the office looks down on her. She’s constantly underestimated and mocked by her peers. But despite that, she never stops doing all that she can for them. She’s got a heart of gold that unites the group when the boss gets too out of control,” Abed elaborated.

“Sounds gay,” Chang scoffed.

Frankie wrapped an arm around Britta’s shoulders and smiled lovingly. “Sounds just like our Britta.”

“Well, shall we go in and check on Jeffery?” the Dean suggested.

“Yeah. We shall,” Britta said. She took a deep breath before following the group into the library.

—-

“You know what I think as the humble outsider who came in and nailed it? I think everyone should imagine their own personal version of season seven and not share it with anyone. Maybe it’ll come true.”

The rest of the group nodded in agreement. Jeff’s expression made Britta think that he and Annie had a conversation similar to the one her and Frankie had on the side of the road. He still appeared to be in pain, but his face was softened with acceptance. She felt a sort of reassured contentment at knowing that they both would be okay.

“No cutting to any of them. If you cut to it, it won’t come true,” Abed said.

Britta exchanged a quick smile with Jeff, then Frankie before closing her eyes to create her season seven.

_“Britta! There’s mail for you!” Frankie exclaimed._

_“Oh, yay! Who’s it from?” she asked, emerging from the kitchen to meet her girlfriend._

_“There’s postcards from Abed and Annie, and a letter from Shirley.” She handed over the mail, Britta leaning in to give her a quick peck on the cheek._

_“Are you ready to host game night tonight?” Frankie asked, looking at the box containing Elroy’s favorite game, The Ears Have It._

_“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Britta grumbled._

_Her girlfriend laughed. “Come on, we have to host it sometimes. We can’t always go to Jeff’s place.”_

_“But do they have to come here?”_

_“Do you want to have it in an RV? Or a Greendale storage closet?” Frankie asked humorously._

_Britta sighed. “You’re right. It’ll be fun as always.”_

_Frankie smiled, pulling her in for a proper kiss. “I love you. I’m so glad that we moved in together.”_

_“I love you, too. I can’t wait for Annie and Abed to see our new place when they come visit this summer,” Britta said happily._

Her eyes fluttered open to see the rest of the group, feeling overwhelmed with sudden gratitude.

“We can cut to them at home though, right? I mean, by ourselves?” Jeff asked.

“Sure,” Abed confirmed, nodding as the rest of the group shook their heads and rolled their eyes.

“I love that I got to be with you guys,” Jeff said. Britta smiled softly, Frankie looking at her instead of Jeff and feeling a wave of affection.

“Gay,” Chang interjected.

“You saved my life and changed it forever.”

“Gay!” Chang exclaimed.

“‘Thank you,” Jeff concluded, voice rough and unable to hide how emotional he was getting. He stepped forward and held his arms out to Chang, who unsurely went in for a hug. Britta and Frankie exchanged a look before wrapping their arms around their friends, the others quickly joining in. The group became a tangle of limbs as they squeezed each other as tightly as possible, each doing their best to hug everyone in the circle at once. After a few moments, Britta turned her head from where it was buried into the crook of Jeff’s neck to look at Frankie.

“Hey, Frankie?” she whispered.

“Yes, Britta?”

“Do you want to move in together?”

A gentle smile spread across Frankie’s face. “I would love to.”

Britta grinned back. “My season seven’s already coming true.”

“You two…” Jeff grumbled, but not out of malice.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked indignantly.

Jeff shook his head and smiled. “Nothing. I love you guys.”

“Love you, too.”

They turned back into the hug, holding each other even tighter than before. Frankie looped her arm around Britta to hold hands with Jeff. Britta tucked herself into Frankie’s side and reached over to Abed, rubbing his back. A smile spread across Annie’s face as she tucked herself further into Jeff’s side and gently butted her head against Britta’s. Chang kept tightening his grip around Jeff’s waist as the Dean draped himself over everyone and reached around to rest a hand on Jeff’s bicep. This was a world that was meant for them. One where they were lucky enough to have any time at all together. One where Annie and Abed had a bright future ahead of them. One where Troy was sailing the world, having experiences that most could only dream of. One where Shirley found the kind of success and fulfillment that she had always craved. One where Jeff had come to love and accept Greendale as his home. One where Britta found the first home she had ever wanted to stay in. One where she was with someone that made her want to stay right where she was.

They might be on a river that winds forever. But at least, they had all been here.

\---

“Should we move the couch to face this wall? Or this one?” Frankie asked, gesturing towards each wall in their new living room.

“Hm…we’d probably be able to mount the TV more easily on this wall…but it might look nicer on the other one…” Britta mused.

“I can mount the TV on either wall, just pick one,” Jeff interjected.

Frankie and Britta had decided to go in on a new apartment together after each of their leases were up. The fact that apartment 303 had been hit with a mold problem and rat infestation at the same time that Frankie’s was showing signs of water damage had somewhat made the decision for them.

“I like the right wall,” Chang chimed in.

“Fair enough, I like it too,” Britta said. She tilted her head towards the couch to prompt Jeff to come over and help her move it.

“Soon enough, this house will be a home,” the Dean said happily, sweeping his feather duster over their mantle. He had shown up to moving day in a stereotypical 1950’s housewife outfit, complete with a full petticoat and apron.

Frankie smiled as she surveyed the furniture and stacks of moving boxes piled around the apartment. “It sure will be.”

It took the better part of the day to finish getting everything in and arrange the furniture. Frankie and Britta thanked the group with pizza and beer, but shooed everyone out before it got too late. They wanted to spend their first night in their new place together.

And so, not unlike their usual Friday nights, they curled up on the couch with glasses of wine in hand. Frankie’s arm was draped casually over Britta’s shoulders, the blonde snuggling into her girlfriend’s side.

“This feels right,” Britta said, caressing her girlfriend’s hand.

Frankie smiled and set down her glass. “It does. This place is really great.”

“I’ve never moved in with someone I was dating. Then again, I spent a majority of my early adulthood sort of couch surfing? But that doesn’t matter.”

“Me too. I’ve never had any pets either, but I think Suzie B, Jr. is warming up to me,” she said excitedly.

“I’m sure she is,” Britta said, giving her a peck on the cheek, “She’s going to love you just as much as I do.”

"You…love me? You're sure about that?”

Britta laughed, a little incredulously. “Yes? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure we just moved in together today. I know I'm not the best at saying it, but I thought you knew.”

Frankie leaned over and and tenderly locked lips with her girlfriend, resting a hand on the side of her face. “I did. Hearing it just...caught me by surprise. I love you, too. And I hope you know that I’m so grateful that you let me love you.”

“I’m grateful that _you_ let _me_ love you,” Britta said quietly.

She rested her head on Frankie’s shoulder, Frankie planting a soft kiss on her forehead.

“How long do you think it will take me to convince you that we need a second cat?” Britta asked after a moment had passed. 

Frankie laughed. “Not long at all.”

“Good, because I saw this really cute kitten at the shelter the other day, and I was just waiting until we moved in to bring it up."

Frankie felt a warm feeling that she wasn’t sure she had ever felt. It took her a moment to identify what it was, eventually realizing that it was the sensation of finally having a place to call home.

“Let’s go see if it’s still there tomorrow,” she suggested.

“Really?! Oh my god, Suzie will love having a sister,” Britta squealed, wrapping her arms tightly around her girlfriend.

Frankie smiled broadly, nuzzling against the side of Britta’s face. “I’m glad.”

They stayed on the couch in their new home, holding each other for as long as they wanted to. Season seven was starting out strong, and they couldn’t wait to see where else it took them.

**Author's Note:**

> another numbered list because I guess I'm just really verbose right now!
> 
> 1) the Parks and Rec joke was a nod to the Community cast always making jokes at Parks' expense due to it being more popular than Community despite appealing to similar audiences and airing at the same time. I actually love Parks, but the joke amuses me greatly.  
> 2) season 6 showed us Jeff grappling with the reality of Annie and Abed moving on, but Britta got no such attention. I really wanted to make her struggle a core part of this story since it wasn't even brought up in canon. I also did some projecting there though, so I hope that worked out well enough!  
> 3) I'm not sorry for including Everytime We Touch on the playlist. I crack up every time it comes up because I have a weird sense of humor.  
> 4) as always, please leave any thoughts/opinions/critiques/etc. in the comments down below! especially since this is my first time seriously writing f/b and it's so much longer than my usual fare.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed and can't wait to hear from you! thanks for reading <3


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